Full-scale production to begin at MLO
Michigan Limestone Operations is expected to begin full scale operations, two shifts in the mill and three around the clock shifts in the quarry, on Monday or Tuesday. According to MLO president Mike Skinner, the winter was spent taking care of routine maintenance, replacing conveyors and belts.
There were no major improvements to the facility over the winter, but the most notable difference at the plant will be among the people who run it. MLO is hiring 20 employees after 25 members of its workforce retired.>P> ?We?ll start looking at replacing those people next week,? said Skinner. The MLO president will have quite an employee pool to pick from as he has 650 applications to sift through. Skinner expects to employ 125 people this season, which is about where it was a year ago. He doesn?t expect to have as many temporary workers as 2002, because there will be less vacation time to fill. Skinner anticipates production to be down by about five percent from last year.
Downturns in construction, highway spending and the economy are reasons for the decrease.
?The first freighter should be in the second week of April,? said Skinner. ?We have a few tentatively scheduled, but a lot depends on the ice conditions, and the availability of the vessels. Most of them are still laid up.?